Body cowl construction



NOV? 1949 c. F. KRAMER ET AL BODY COWL cousrrnucnou 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed July 26, 1945 a. E ti /4M5? M ,4: (POMMf-Zl INVENTOR.

Nov. 15, 1949 c. F. KRAMER ETAL I BODY COWL CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet2 Filed July 26 1945 Patented Nov. l5, 1949 OFF 1 CE BODY COWLCONSTRUCTION .tionlof .Delaware Application 31113 26, 1945; SeriM No."608388 :9 Claims. .11 This inventionzrelates tot the oconstructionmfautomotive bodies psan'd, more'iparticularly', toran improved cowl,:dash: and =':;door r: pillar construction together.-'with.;a;:.concealed fenderirmounting and. door .hinge.

In the construction of motor vehiclebodiesnit has long beentheacceptedzpractice 'toiprovide a substantiallyiyertical:fdashboard-zclosing the extreme forward..portionzxof thepassenger roompartment sand separating-it .from the engine compartmentforwardlyithereof. .rThis dash terminates at its .lower: edge: in 'a:.rearwardlyaand downwardly sloping. toeboard (through which the pedalsrelied.upon -for-lcontrol' of. thewvehi'cle normally extendkaand'ithence horizontally F1631- wardly to iormvthe'floorypropergof:thepassenger compartment. 'A cowl :is. :usuallm secured: to V the top of-:the:dash,-. ;-panel andsex-tends: rearwardly and usuallyslightlyupwardly-therefrom;- until. it merges 'withzthe windshieldmounting. slSideacowl panels extend .from "the cowl and the? clash :oneach side thereof:reanwardly 'and-outwardly until they merge with the.respective side. :fpanelsnof the body--proper. The.outersurface-iota*part of the side cowlgqaanel forms :the; innervside act the front-wheelrenclosurevand=therear edge of the front fender; asi-presently:constructedpis :usually secured ta -this r-cowl; panelryalong'z .the.line on which the :cowli panel: becomes;-partiof ;the body side panel..-The sidevof'the-,cowliserves them partly as the -*wheel enclosure, in;whichs case. :it is concealedbehind -.the.--:tender.wskirt, and; partlyas a portion of anouter-bo dy'-panelrwhere'iit extends rear-wardlywof.the.:-fender skirt. .This means that therev is a; jointbetween-the-fender skirt and thecowl-panelaat which :leakage is almostcertain to occur with attendant deterioration due to rusting.tin-addition;it-.is.-necessary to providea verticaldoor :pillarsattherearward extremity of the cowl-panel. =Thiswmustbe of sufiicientlyrigidconstruction=to. support :the door-and, atthe same time,:sho.u1dbenentim'ly enclosed so far as communiction withthe wheel enclosure isconcerned. -I-Ieretofore,-this has been extremely difficult to achieve.While in :.some cases, it is possibleto make. a combined: cowl,toeboard, dashboard and sideassemblywimwhich the component partsare-welded or.-otherwise secured together to. approximate-an integralrforward housing, there has been no practicable means of attaching the.front .fender. :to-this assembly to prevent leakage,.-.nor..-has.there.been a satisfactory .p'illar construction developed which maybe'integral with thelhousing struc- .2 be :proofed against-leakage of :dustand water from thewheelenclosure or ofengine fumes from theenginescompartment-ebothrof whichlie immediately forwardlymf. it.

. The zadvantagesof the I present construction is that together withhaving a: completely enclosed forward housing for the passengercompartment, this construction is integrated 'with .the body- .panelproper, gthefendere mountingsand. the. door pillar, so that thereare novisible external joints nor.- any internal. joints ;;in-: the vassemblythrough which dust, moisture. :or; fumes :may leak, causingdeterioration ofathei-components or discomfort 120.; theaccupants.,.Another advantage .of the construction. -is that it :provides a vfullyconcealed mounting for .the fender and: yet this mounting is readilyaccessible .for purposes fof ,assembly. or when it is necessary todetach the fender torrepair: or replacement. .Stillganother advantage isthat the .door..,pillar is integrally. connected with and supportedbythe. entire :cowlandxlash construction. Yetianother, advantage is theprovision of a clearance .chamberfor the doors front flange as requiredin door mountingsroftheltype in which the forward edge of; the. doorvpivots inwardly of the outerabody.line-when; the :door. is opened. Afurtheradvantage lies inthe reinforced .floor beam construction,which'imaylbe-smade;a part of this construction. And; another.advantageresides in the improvedrmethod of joining .thezrbody run- :ningboard with :the .cowl, flooraandpillar assembly. Yet-another advantage,is. that the fender, perv se,..is. .in. one apiece, independent of thecowl 'panel; and;hence;:*may easily be restored to-shape if damaged.

With .this-andother:considerations in view,.the invention}:consistsof:the structure-described in this specification, .claimed in the claimsand shownin the;.accompanyingdrawings in which:

.Figurel-iseaperspective view of a portion of the right-hand: side iota.motor. vehicle generally :adjacentto the front door-pillar showing-therear part of the right-hand fender and I the beginning of the'runningboard structure a part of the fender and .of'theczdash and pillar panelsbeing brokenaaway toszshow-iinnmore detail the ex-act constructionsused.

" Figure. 2:;is arsomewhat similar perspective view with, however,that-fender entirely removed and substantially halfiof the front :orcowl housing being shown: in; relation to the: door pillar fendersupport and .the-ewindshield:mounting.

. Referringfirst to -Figure, l, Bindicatesaaportion of. theenginecompartmenthood,:and--Ill a fender ture and'reinforc'edby itandia'tf that .same' time 5:} having adepending skirt. I l'cdenning thewheel that, following the usual practice, at least the upper surface ofthis member is covered by the door of the vehicle when closed, the doorhaving a depending flange more or less conforming to and lying outwardlyof the outer curved surface of the rocker panel l4 and extending belowits upper surface. A

Returning now to Fig. 2, as well, the construction of the front portionof the passenger housing is shown. This comprises front panel 9including a dashboard 16 arranged substan= tially vertically and havinga toeboard section I! perfectly formed integrally with the dashboard andextending from it rearwardly and downwardly to'the substantiallyhorizontal floor ledge l8 forming the extreme rear portion of thispanel' with the floor l8 of the front passenger compartment. The upperand side and the lower edges of front panel 9 are flanged forwardly anddownwardly, respectively, as shown at 49 and nest in the similarlyflanged edges 59 of the cowl side panel 20 and 2| of the cowl roof panel22 and similar connections are made between the outwardly flanged topedge of the cowl side panel 20 and the side flanges of the cowl roofpanel 22. These nested flanges are securely welded together atsufficiently frequent intervals to provide a dustand moisture-proofjoint between the dashboard, toeboard, cowl and side panels; and, in-

deed, in many instances substantially the entire front housing can bemade from a single stamp- Attention is now directed to the upper brokenaway section in Figure 1, in which it will be noted that the cowl sidepanel 20 has an offset 23 spaced slightly forwardly of its rear edge andthen is formed to a channel section having a web 24, an inner flange 25and an outer flange 26 at the end of the panel 29. The width of the web24 varies from top to bottom of the panel conforming, in some respects,to curvature of the outer body panel, though'not so extreme, and beingso proportioned that the flange 26 is spaced a considerable distanceinwardly of the body line represented by the fender skirt. The fronthinge or door pillar 21 is also a varying channel section having a web28, an inner flange 29 and an outer flange 30. The forward parts of theflanges 29 and 30 overlap the flanges 25 and 26, respectively, of thecowl side panel 20, the inner flange 29 extending to the ofiset 23 andthe outer flange 30 having its forward edge substantially aligned withthe edge of the flange 26. The flanges of the pillar member are thenwelded or otherwise permanently secured to the flanges of the channel ofthe cowl panel 20 throughout this overlapping engagement, the depth ofthe flanges 29 and 30 and the overlap being so proportioned as toprovide a closed box pillar section of substantial depth when the twochannels are so secured together. The rocker panel H (see Figure 1) hasan offset spaced slightly rearwardly of the rear edge l3 of the fenderand extends forwardly thence into overlapping relationship with theassociated flanges 26 and 39 to which it is permanently secured. Whilethe cowl side panel (and hence the flanges 25 and 26) terminates on theline 3|, the flange 3|] of the pillar channel bends through at least 90of arc and is reinforced by the conforming front edge of the rockerpanel l4, which extends above and below the line 3|. The floor sidestill 32 is basically a channel section having a vertical web 59, anupper flange 5| having a joggle 52 and a lower flange 53, the outerportion of which is bent to a depending flange 54. The floor panel 33has a joggle 55 adjacent to the edge of its horizontal extent to receivethe inner part of the flange 5| and a deep depending flange 56permanently secured at its lower edge to the depending flange 54 of theside sill making a longitudinally extending box sill section. The floorpanel 33 extends forwardly over the floor ledge I8 far enough to bringthe flange 56 into overlapping engagement with the adjacent 'cowl sidepanel 20 to which it is member 42 at 45.

permanently secured completing a dustproof seal between the floor paneland the front housing. The inner edge 5'! of the rocker panel l4overlies the upper flange 5| of the side sill 32 outwardly of the joggle52. Thus, there are no free joints between the cowl structure, the doorpillar, the running board, or the floor panel, permitting leakage fromeither the engine compartment or wheel enclosure.

The rear edge 13 of the fender ID has an internally disposed overlappingflange 36 within which is permanently secured the outer leg 3! of the Zsection 38 which has an inner leg 39 abutting the joined flanges 26 and30 (and in the lower portion, the rocker panel 14 as well) and removablysecured to them by a number of spaced boltsone of which is shown at 40.Access to this connection may readily be had either from above byreaching rearwardly from the engine compartment or from beneath reachingupwardly within the fender skirt. The web of the 2 sec-- tion 38 variesin depth throughout, conforming to the exterior body line but leavingsuflicient space between the legs 31 and 39 to permit access to thebolts 49 and the introduction of fender bumping anvils, in the event abent fender is to be straightened without being removed from thevehicle. As shown in Figure 2, the web 28 of the pillar 21 has two ormore depressions such as that shown at 4| in which is seated a straphinge member 42 having its inner end bolted through the web 28 andreinforced by an angle 43 bolted to the outer flange 30 of the pillar at44 and to the hinge v As the axis of the hinge member 42 is spacedsubstantially inwardly of the line of the outer surface of the sidepanel and of the fender skirt H, as a door hinged thereon opens, itsforward edge would move inwardly behind the edge l3 of the fender intothe space 46 defined between the outside face of the pillar 21, the webof the 2 member 38 and its leg 31. As willbe noted in the upper part ofFigure 2, the pillar construction continues in the hollow box section4'! in conjunction with the upper part 48 'of the cowl roof panel whichserves as the windshield frame and extends further forming the roof astop panel of the vehicle. A filler member 58 carries the desired bodyline over the juncture between the cowl roof panel and the lower portionof the housing, the break 59 coinciding with the 'JllI'lCtiOIl betweenthe vehicle hood 8 and the top r ses- 411 that' the 'as the "1 t of' thedoor, since 'thebnclosurehs complete at least as far as'the outer-edge ithe diior. -In addition, when the fender is properly attached to theoutermost'portion of the"c'ov vlexte'nsi'on,

"there will be no leakage "rearwardly from the wheel "housings ortheengine conipartment within the area bounded by thefei'zterior ofthefe'nde'r "skirt. It-is 'iisua-ii -ne" ss'ary,-in -order to pro- -videfor the door checkfli'ght like, to have several apert S l the rearfaceof the pillar. 'These'havei-also been -'aso"urce of dust leakage but inthe-p zit-"construction, by making Zeach pi larffclbs' x s'ectiom 'thefor- "ward wall of the pillar'rep esented by the web 24 may beentirelyimperforate and"whatever ;wiring or connections arereq'iiired'on the rear face of the pillar'(represented by the web 28), "S0 thatthere isnoopportunity forleakage within the vehicle. y f tegrallyoutwardly beyondthe point of door attachment'but in itself as anfelementof "the pillar, and the particular construction shown is veryeffective in increasing --thestructural resistance "of thismemberwithoutthe addition of-extra of said mounting element.

'stifienin means. The"f'eiiderfproper 'is secured internally to the'bodyand whilethe securing means is readily avai'lable for installationor re- 'moval of the fendenthere is novisiblemeansof "'attachmenteven'-when the door'of the vehicle 5 I "board and associated floor and thecowl top: panel is openand no elaborate-precaution needbe "taken forwaterproofing,ahtisqueak, orthe like. The customary joints between the--fenders and the body panel which have-always been exposed to damage duetojrust, are 'entirelyavoided. 40

Further, the fender itself, asa serviceunitmay be made up complete withits attaching means, is representedby the Z fse'ction" 3 8,

"Certain chan'gesmaybe"'madein" the specific construction shown, 'butit' is the intention 1:045

lying the outer flange of said first channel'me'mher, said overlyingflanges being each perrna'nent- 'ly secured to each other to form asubstantially weatherproof joint, 'forming-a composite hollow boxsection pillar, a fen'der having a depending skirt spaced subs-tantiallyoutwardly of said pillar, an-atta ching'memher for said fendercomprising a substantially transverse web permanently secured at itsouter edge to'the inner surface of said fender skirt and having an inner"flange overlying the associated 1 outer flanges'of said two channels,means detach- -ably securing the flange of said attaching "mem- "her tosaid associated flanges, therear edge'of said fenderdefining the forwardedge of the door -opening for said body, saidedge beingspaced's'ub- Icover by the claims such'changes' as may reasonably be within the scopethereof.

The invention claimed is; 1-. In an automotive body cowl construction,

comprising, a rearwardly opening box structure in whichthenasnboardserves as" the bottom and the cowl? panels as two oppo'sitesides" and the toeboard and associated floor and cowl top panel as theother two opposite--sides; said-'cow1 panels being formdat'their' rearedges with an out- '55 wardly -extending flange, a door pillarfmeI nberassociated withsaidflangegsaid flange extending at least tothe-outersurfa'ce of said pillarn ember to form a substantiallycontinuoufi'PPartition between said pillars-a fender-having a dependingskirt spaced substantially 'utwa'rdly ofsaid as- "sociated' flangeand-pillar and the rearfedgebf *sa'id skirt-definin the 7 for ard edgeof a door opening, a transverse connecting member extending between-saidfenderiafn "said associated '65? v V x formed between the outer surfaceofsaid pillar and the inner surface of said fenderskirten- {closedforwardly by the web of said attaching member, said web andfirst channelon each'side "and saidco'wlcomprisinga 'substantial'ly'weatherflange andpillar, -a substantial distance and forwardly of the'reafface"ofsaid'ipillar and of the rear edge of said fender, saiddepending slgi t,as-

sociated flange and transverseconnectin ber forming a" chariiberadapted"to receive" thei 0 in which the dashboard serves as the bottom and a ctle'ak inwardly 5 tchesand "the 15 The cowl not' only extends in- 5 t iecdwipaneisas two opposite sidesanatheme board and aesociated floor andthe cowl top panel as the other'two opposite sides, aid' cowl panelsbeing for-med at their 'rear edges with a substantially channel shapedflange extendingoutwardly a substantial distance therefrom, a 'doorpillar member comprising a' charmer sectiom sa'i'd pillar channelsection and saidcowl channel flange se- I a cured in partially nestedposition with the 'the joint there'is siibstantially dustproof and 10'flanges of said pillar 'channel' section overlying for a portion oftheir len'gth the flanges-of the said cowl panel channel fla'n'ge andthe'webs' of said pillar channel section and said' cowl channel flangebeing insubstantial parallelism and spaced to form a-composite boxsection pillar,

"a fender having a dependingskirtspaced substantially outwardly ofsaid-composite-pillar,'-a

"mounting element for said fender I comprising-a transverse webpermanently secured at its outer edge to said fender and having -a"flange 'at its inner edge overlying the outer associated flanges 'ofsaid pillar channel section and said cowl panel channel flange, meansdetachably securingsaid mounting element to said pillar, therearedge ofsaid fender defining the forward edge ofthe door opening in saidbody'and being spaced'substantially rearwardly of the'webof'said'm'ounti'ng element to form a rearwardly'open'ing -chamberbetween the skirt of said fender-and the outer surface of said pillarclosed forwardly by theweb 3. In an automotive body cowl construction,comprising, a rearwardlyo'pening box structure-of which thedashbo'ard'serves as a bottom and the cowl panels as two opposite sidesa'nd the' toeas the other two opposite sides,- s'aid co'wl panels beingformed at their rear'edgewith an outwardly extending flange comprising afirst channel sec- "tion-offset with respect to-said cowl-panel, a doorpillar membercomprisi'ng a second channel sec- "-t'ion;the oute'r end ofthe inner flange of said second channel section adapted to overlie'saidfirst "channel in the offset-formed in said cowl-panel and the outerflange of said-second channeloversaid associated channels stantiallyrearwardly of the web of said attach- 'ing member,-'-hingememberss'ecu'redto the rear 'face of'said pillar inwardly of saidfender-skirt,

there being a 'rearwardly opening chamber mounting element and saidchannels are disposed inwardly of the fender skirt and forwardly of theweb of said mounting element.

5. The structure of claim 2, which is further characterized in that saidcowl top panel is integral with and an extension of the roof of saidbody, said cowl panels being completely covered by the external bodypanels.

6. In an automotive body cowl construction, comprising, a rearwardlyopening box structure in which the dashboard serves as the bottom andthe cowl panels as two opposite sides and the toeboard and associatedfloor and cowl top panel as the other two opposite sides, said cowlpanels being formed at their rear edges with an outwardly extendingflange, a door pillar member associated with said flange, said flangeextending at least to the outer surface of said pillar member to form asubstantially continuous partition between said pillars, a fender havinga depending skirt spaced substantially outwardly of said associatedflange and pillar, a connecting member extending between said fender andsaid associated flange and pillar, said connecting member lying inwardlyof said fender and forwardly of said pillar, said dashboard and toeboardand associated floor section being a stamping having outwardly extendingmarginal flanges secured to said cowl panels, the upper surface of saidfloor section being spaced a substantialy distance upwardly of the loweredge of said cowl panels and joining with the floor of said body, saidbody floor having depending flanges along the side edges thereof spacedinwardly of said pillars and extending forwardly to the respective cowlpanels, a longitudinal channel member having a substantially verticalweb abutting the inner face of the adjacent pillar, the top flange ofsaid longitudinal channel member extending inwardly to said body floorand the lower flange thereof being secured to the adjacent dependingflange of said body floor forming a longitudinally extending box sectionside structural member.

7. In an automotive body construction, a composite box section frontdoor pillar, a fender panel spaced a, substantial distance outwardly ofsaid pillar and connected thereto by a transverse web, said pillar andsaid web together defining the rear wall of a front wheel housing, therear edge of said fender defining the forward edge of a door opening, alongitudinal box section structural member extending rearwardly from thebase of said pillar, a substantially channel shaped rocker panel havinga Web defining the outer surface of said body along the bottom thereofand flanges inwardly directed and secured to the top and bottom of saidlongitudinal structural member, the forward portion of said rocker panelbeing inset to receive the rear edge of said fender in continuation ofthe principal longitudinal line of said rocker panel, the forward edgeof said rocker panel being secured to said pillar.

8. An automotive body construction, a substantially vertical box sectiondoor pillar, a fender member spaced outwardly of said pillar and secuedthereto by a transverse web, said pillar and said web together formingthe rear Wall of a front wheelhousing, a longitudinal box sectionstructural member extending rearwardly from said pillar, a rocker panelhaving a web defining the outer surface of said body along the bottomthereof and flanges inwardly directed and secured to the top and bottomof said longitudinal structural member, the rocker panel web beingspaced substantially outwardly of the outer surface of said pillar, saidpillar and transverse web and rear part of said fender forming arearwardly opening chamber therebetween, a hinge extending into saidchamber, said rocker member having a forward edge secured to said pillarand serving as a bottom closure for said chamber, the forward portion ofsaid rocker panel being inset to receive the rear edge of said fender toprovide a continuous longitudinal line between the main portion of saidrocker panel and the abutting portion of said fender.

9. In an automotive body cowl construction comprising, a rearwardlyopening box structure in which the dashboard serves as the bottom andthe cowl panels as two opposite sides and the toeboard and associatedfloor and cowl top panels as the other two opposite sides, said cowlpanels being formed at their rear edges with an outwardly extendingflange, a door pillar member associated with said flange, said flangeextending at least to the outer surface of said pillar member to form asubstantially continuous partition between said pillars, a fender havinga dependent skirt spaced substantiall outwardly of said associatedflange and pillar, a connecting member extending between said fender andsaid associated flange and pillar, and said connecting member lyinginwardly of said fender and forwardly of said pillar, a longitudinal boxsection structural member extending rearwardly from said cowl structureformed in part from the floor panel of said body, a substantiallychannel shaped rocker panel having a web defining a portion of the outersurface of said body, its upper flange serving as the sill of the dooropening and secured to the upper portion of said longitudinal structuralmember, its lower flange secured to the lower portion of saidlongitudinal structural member, the forward end of said rocker panelbeing inset behind said fender skirt and the forward edge of said rockerpanel being secured to said associated flange and pillar.

CLARENCE F. KRAMER. HERBERT F. CROMWELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,816,333 Ledwinka July 28, 19311,909,287 Ledwinka May 16, 1933 2,012,057 Swallow Aug. 20, 19352,092,542 Widman Sept. 7, 1937 2,113,075 Breer et al. Apr. 5, 19382,115,903 Breer et a1 May 3, 1938 2,188,891 Haltenberger Jan. 30, 19402,248,319 Waterhouse, Jr. July 8, 1941 2,313,587 Saurer Mar. 9, 19432,383,428 Ulrich Aug. 21, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date558,869 Great Britain Jan. 25, 1944

